In-home care program being trialled
December 19, 2019

With the rebuild of the hospice due to start in December 2020, we have been trialling an in-home care pilot which has been met with a positive reaction from the families involved.
Fifteen families are currently part of the program pilot, which will be formally evaluated by an external company and the information gained will be used to assess whether providing in-home care will part of an alternative service during the hospice closure.
The feedback, so far, from families has been extremely positive. The key benefits have been very consistent in that it gave parents or guardians a break and some time for themselves knowing their child was well cared for. They also spoke about feeling confident as staff were very interested in their child and they appreciated their child had the opportunity to have one-to-one care, and entertainment, which is not always possible on a day-to-day basis.
Staff have also said they are able to get to know the child and family very well, which will improve their understanding for future hospice visits and that being able to really engage with the child in a more relaxed environment is a huge benefit.
NB: Due to funding, we were limited to having 15 families participate in the pilot program. Family selection has been very challenging as so many families require help. There are also strict criteria we need to meet for the pilot program which required us to select children and families based on the following criteria; A range of complexity of needs, from a range of cultural backgrounds, from inner and outer metropolitan Melbourne and equal numbers of male and female children, and are not receiving other NDIS or minimal in-home care support.
We look forward to sharing more about the in-home care program with you once the evaluation and recommendations are complete next year.
Read more about our rebuild: https://www.vsk.org.au/hospice-rebuild-due-to-commence-december-2020/